1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a trail marking device and more particularly to a device for marking a trail to guide a person, in either daylight or darkness, retracing his path through a wooded area.
2. DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART
Individuals who walk in an unfamiliar wooded area have heretofore typically marked their trail by breaking branches, or chopping or otherwise removing pieces of selected trees along the trail. Such techniques, although valuable, are sometimes ineffective because the marks are not easily found. The broken limbs or chopped bark tends to blend into the surroundings and are not immediately noticeable. Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a new and novel trail marking device which will guide an individual retracing his path through a wooded area.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a new and novel trail marking device which can be easily visualized.
It frequently occurs that a person will sometimes enter a wooded area during daylight and retrace his trail in darkness. The chopped trees and bark are not readily visible in darkness. Accordingly, it is another object of the present invention to provide a new and novel trail marking device which can be more easily found in either daylight or darkness.
It has been found that marking a trail with a strip of hunter orange or blaze orange material, which is more easily seen than material of other colors, is particularly advantageous for a trail maker traveling in the daylight hours.
In darkness, however, the blaze orange material is not easily viewed and thus it has been found that luminescent and/or phosphorescent material enhances the ease with which a trail maker can find a mark. Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a trail marking device which includes at least one portion of highly reflective material which is easily viewed in daylight and a luminescent strip which can be easily viewed in darkness.
Although one could tie or tack such a trail marker to a tree limb, it has been found, according to the present invention, to be particularly advantageous to utilize a wire which is embedded between the strips. Otherwise, the trail marker, if tied to a tree limb, become more easily untied, separated from the tree and lost. Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a trail marking device of the type described which includes a wire embedded therein for tying the trail marker to a tree limb or the like.
It has also been found advantageous that the strip of material be provided with a plurality of tear lines, such as perforations, and that the wire be interrupted along its length at the tear lines to provide individual marker sections which are coupled together but which can be separated from each other along the tear lines. Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide trail marking strips of the type described which includes a plurality of interconnected marker sections which are coupled to adjacent marker sections via break lines that are easily severed to allow the individual marker sections to be tied to a tree branch.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a trail marking device of the type described which includes a wire embedded therein that is interrupted at various intervals aligned with the break lines.
It has also been found that sometimes the tree limbs are too large to wrap and thus a container for tacks is provided for tacking the strips to a tree trunk or the like. The tack container also functions as a spool on which the strip is wound. Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a trail marking device of the type described including a strip wound on a hollow spool which contains tacks for tacking individual portions of the strip to a tree.
Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art as the description thereof proceeds.